


Sphinx Stargazing

by Lady_Sci_Fi



Series: Adventures in Egypt [2]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (1963)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-02
Updated: 2017-12-02
Packaged: 2019-02-09 16:23:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12891870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Sci_Fi/pseuds/Lady_Sci_Fi
Summary: The Doctor and Sarah's first real stop in Egypt is the Giza Plateau, where the Doctor has something special in mind.





	Sphinx Stargazing

 The Doctor steered the reed boat to the dock in front of the town. The white pyramid loomed over it, only a relatively short distance away, and Sarah could only keep smiling at the sight.

 “First, we’ll need a mount,” the Doctor stated. He stepped off the boat, and took Sarah’s hand to help her. “Do you have a preference for horse or camel?” They didn’t let go of each other’s hands.

 “Aren’t camels better suited for long-distance desert travelling?”

 “That’s a point for the camel.” The Doctor glanced around for any sign of a stable.

 “Besides, I’ve never ridden a camel before. New experience.”

 The Doctor grinned. “Camel, it is. At least for a while.” He spotted a sign. “Ah, stables this way.”

 As they walked, Sarah kept an eye out for the fashion. “Think we’ll need to buy different clothes yet?”

 The Doctor glanced at a group of people talking on the edge of the road. “If you want to.”

 “We’ll eventually need a change of clothes, anyway,” Sarah pointed out.

 After a visit to a weapons merchant for small functional daggers, and a clothes merchant, where they both got a couple of travel-appropriate outfits, along with a travel bag for Sarah, they made their way to the stables. Sarah leaned into him to tease, “Don’t think I didn’t notice.”

 “Didn’t notice what?”

 “You’ve got a Tardis bag.”

 The Doctor slyly grinned. “It only expands the inside a little. I didn’t think we had to be perfectly authentic and realistically weighed down.”

“It looked like more than only ‘a little’ to me. But, a cheat I’ll accept.”

 They reached the stables, which had a few horses and camels to choose from. Sarah half-tuned out the price negotiation to simply look around more. She could see the temple rising high above the rest of the buildings, and was about to find someone to ask what it was specifically for when she heard, “Sorry, but my wife and I have been travelling for quite some time, so we have no current news from Greece.”

 Sarah stood still, processing the term the Timelord had called her, as the Doctor led the camel they had chosen out of its stable and over to her.

 “His name is Ajat, and I’m sure he’ll do… What is it?” the Doctor asked.

 Sarah broke out of her thoughts, and patted the camel’s neck. Quietly, she said, “You called me your wife.”

 “Oh, that. Yes, I… I thought it made sense. People have assumed before, and I thought it wouldn’t do any harm.” The Doctor’s expression turned concerned. “I didn’t overstep any lines, did I?”

 Sarah smiled and shook her head. “No, I just wasn’t expecting it, is all. I like it.” She pulled him down for a small kiss. “My husband.”

 With that, they secured their bags to the camel’s saddle, climbed up onto his back, and made their way to the Giza Plateau.

 ********

 It really wasn’t that far a ride to the plateau at all, and their camel was friendly and obedient enough. The sun was starting to set, and while the landscape was beautiful, Sarah was grateful for the deceasing intensity of the sun. They stopped in front of the greatest of the Great Pyramids. Sarah hopped down from their mount and climbed up one of the sandy-coloured stones at the deteriorated base.

 “It’s so… I always knew they were big, but this…” Sarah craned her neck to see the gold top from her vantage point. “This is… wow. They built this.”

 “Over two-thousand years ago,” the Doctor reminded, joining her.

 “It’s a shame they don’t still look like this in my time.” Sarah went up a couple more blocks. “I wonder what the view is from the top. I bet it’s absolutely beautiful.”

 The Doctor took a moment to consider the idea. “While you could feasibly climb all the way up in your time, it’s much too smooth now.”

 “Yes, I’d rather not break anything trying.” Sarah clambered back down to the ground. They got back on the camel and explored the rest of the area.

 When the sun had almost completely set, the Doctor took them back to the Sphinx. Sarah could tell he had something special in mind. He pulled up beside it and turned to her. “While we can’t climb up one of the pyramids, I think this is doable.” He dismounted the camel, and helped Sarah down, then grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder. Sarah took hers as well.

 “You won’t stray far, will you,” the Doctor pulled the camel's face down to pat the side of its head and briefly look into its eyes, not really concerned that the animal would do just that.

 Sarah looked herself and the Timelord over. They had decided to put on the light leather trousers they had bought shortly after starting to ride from Letopolis, since the saddle wasn’t the most comfortable thing to have directly against skin. “So, best way to do this?”

 The Doctor led Sarah to a back paw of the lion body. “Good place to start, don’t you think?”

 It took a few minutes for them to climb onto the long back, and they made their way up to one shoulder. The Doctor took off his cloak, folded it once, and set it on the stone. The pair settled on the fabric, Sarah sitting between the Doctor’s legs with her back against his front. The Doctor dug into his bag, spread a cloth over Sarah’s lap, and placed some food on it, in easy reach for them both.

 Sarah took a small piece of bread. She said quietly, “Here I am, having a picnic on the shoulder of the Great Sphinx, watching the sunset on the Nile. You certainly know how to treat a girl.”

 “I don’t know about treating girls, but I am relieved that I know how to treat you.” The Doctor popped a couple of grapes into his mouth.

 “You know what I mean,” Sarah giggled. She let out a long sigh. “So beautiful…”

 With the sun soon gone completely, the moon and stars dominated the sky. The river glinted with the moon’s light, and the pyramids behind them seemed to slightly glow from it as well.

 The Doctor finished his fill of the food, and wrapped his arms around Sarah’s middle. Sarah was done a moment later, and folded the cloth before resting her hands on his at her waist.

 They sat like that for a while, simply watching the river and listening to the natural sounds of the night. It was so mesmerizing and peaceful.

 But the Doctor had even more in mind, and when he noticed Sarah shifting to get more comfortable from sitting still too long, tapped her hip to get her attention. He carefully stood and pulled her up with him. He bent back over to retrieve his cloak and the cloth.

 “I don’t want to leave here yet,” Sarah said.

 “We’re not,” the Doctor assured as they stepped down from the shoulder and went out to the middle of the back. He dropped his bag, spread the cloak out, and laid down on his back.

  Sarah eagerly joined him, settling against his side, using his outstretched arm under her head as a pillow, and copying his gaze straight up into the sky. She was nearly overwhelmed by how bright the specks of light were, and the sheer number of them. “I’ve never seen such a clear night sky before. So many stars…”

 Sarah started picking out constellations she knew, and pointing them out to the Doctor. They told each other stories they knew behind the constellations. Sometimes they had alternate shapes and stories from the other.

 When that occupation had run its course, Sarah said, “I wonder which of those stars we’ve been near.”

 The Doctor bent the elbow of the arm Sarah’s head rested on to let his fingers absentmindedly play with her hair. “Quite a fair few, I’d say.”

 “Which one is yours?”

 “Hm?”

 “The one for Gallifrey, I mean.”

 “Ah…” the Timelord scanned the sky, calculating direction and distance. He eventually settled on pointing across Sarah’s chest to a spot almost halfway up from the horizon. Sarah turned her head to follow the finger.

 “I’m not sure if we can see the exact star, but in that direction,” the Doctor said. He dropped his hand back to his side, though Sarah’s gaze still focused on that spot. The Doctor turned his head to watch her, and couldn’t resist the kiss to her temple. He saw the corners of her mouth lift at the action, but she kept her attention on that patch of sky.

 “So that’s where you come from.”

 “Quite a long way in that direction, yes.”

 Sarah turned to the man. “That puts into perspective just how fortunate I am.”

 “Oh?”

 “That you came to Earth at all, got stuck here, met me…”

 “Earth is quite important in the grand scheme of things.”

 “Still. All of space that we can see right now, and more. All of time that we’ve experienced, and more. Given all of that, we met. And now… I’m here with you, stargazing on the back of the Great Sphinx, two-thousand years before I’m even born.”

 The Doctor nodded his head. “Thinking of it like that, yes, I suppose we are quite fortunate.” His hand stopped playing with her hair, and he draped the forearm down over her shoulder. He slightly moved in closer to her, resting the side of his head against hers.

 Sarah’s hand moved up to rest on top of the Doctor’s on her collarbone, her fingers tracing little circles on his skin. “I love you.”

 “The sentiment is most definitely shared.” The Doctor turned his head to briefly bury his nose in Sarah’s hair and inhaled her scent.

 They were quiet for a short while, until Sarah stifled a yawn. “Do you think we could stay the night up here?”

 “Too tired to climb down?”

 “No… I just… like it up here.”

 “Well, I don’t see why not. It’s safe enough, and warm enough.”

 “You’re not worried that Ajat will wander off and leave us?”

 The Doctor shook his head. “He’ll probably go find something to eat, if he hasn’t already. But he won’t stray far.”

 “Good with animals, are you?”

 “Sometimes.”

 “In that case…” Sarah maneuvered out of her cloak, and spread it across their torsos. She propped herself up on an elbow to initiate a slow and soft kiss. She smiled against his mouth when they pulled apart, then resettled on her back again.

 The Timelord and the Human got lost in the stars, and the comfortable warmth of each other.


End file.
